Pinot and Popcorn
by Morganperidot
Summary: Olivia and Jake story. Occurs after the events of season 5 episode 7, "Even the Devil Deserves a Second Chance".


Pinot and Popcorn

By Morganperidot

Olivia Pope entered her apartment, closed the door, leaned back against it, closed her eyes, and sighed. For at least tonight she had escaped the suffocating world of the White House. After a moment, she opened her eyes and flicked on the light – and saw Jake Ballard lying on her sofa. "Oh, no," she said, "no, no, no, no, no." She walked over and looked down at him. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and jeans, which looked much better on him than the suit he had been wearing earlier. She picked up one of the sofa pillows and threw it at him. "Get out," she said.

Jake sat up and tossed the pillow on the floor. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"This is my apartment," Olivia said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sleeping," Jake said.

"You have an apartment with a bed," Olivia said. "Why are you sleeping on my sofa? No, you know what? I don't care. Just get out." Jake lay back down on the sofa. "I said get out," Olivia said.

"I heard you," Jake said. Olivia stared at him for a moment and then walked to the kitchen. She kicked off her shoes and grabbed her biggest wine glass. Then she saw the wine bottle on the counter. It wasn't one of hers; the label said Domaine de la Romanée-Conti – French and very expensive. After opening it, she picked up another glass and then filled both of them. When she got back to the sofa, she held out the smaller one to Jake. He sat up again and accepted it.

Olivia sat on the sofa and brought the glass up to her nose and lips, closing her eyes as she inhaled the warm aroma. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Jake said.

Olivia sipped the wine and enjoyed the taste of it. She opened her eyes and saw that Jake was just looking at her. "What?" she asked.

"Why aren't you with him?" Jake asked.

"That's not your business," Olivia said. "Like this isn't somewhere that you can just break into whenever you feel like it."

Jake set his glass on a table. "Why aren't you with him?" he asked again.

Olivia sipped more wine. "I don't want to talk about him," she said, "and I don't want to talk about my father. And I don't want to talk about how I'm like my father."

"What other topics do we have?" Jake asked.

"Anything else," Olivia said.

Jake was silent briefly, and then he said, "Do you ever think about you and me in…"

"Yes," Olivia said. She looked at him and saw what might have been disbelief. "I think about you and me in the sun," she said.

"Did I screw up when I…"

"Yes," Olivia said. "But I said I didn't want to talk about him."

"That's about us," Jake said.

"No," Olivia said. "That isn't about us."

Jake was silent for a moment. "Is there any food in this place?" he asked.

Olivia laughed. "You didn't bring petit fours to go with the wine?" she said.

Jake smiled. "No," he said.

"There's popcorn in the kitchen," Olivia said.

"That isn't food," Jake said.

Olivia laughed. "You could go somewhere else and get something," she said.

"I could," Jake said, but he didn't move from his spot on the sofa.

"Make the popcorn," Olivia said.

"I'm not one of your peons, Liv," Jake said.

"It's my apartment," Olivia said. "Make the popcorn or starve."

"OK then," Jake said. He got up and went into the kitchen. Olivia watched him walk away and smiled. Then thoughts of Fitzgerald Grant came into her mind, and she drank more wine to try to wash them away. She had needed some space after dealing with various national and international issues for Fitz in the Oval. She had needed to not be there, to not be that with him.

"You're thinking about him," Jake said.

Olivia looked over at him where he was leaning against the wall. "Where's the popcorn?" she said.

"Not done yet," Jake said. "So?"

"Yes, OK," Olivia said.

"Are you going back there?" Jake asked.

"Are you going to tell me to?" Olivia asked.

"No," Jake said. "Some mistakes I only make once."

"Good," Olivia said. Jake disappeared into the kitchen again and then returned with a large bowl of popcorn that he set on the table. He picked up the TV remote and pushed the red button in the corner, then started flipping through the channels. "Are you going to tell me what happened or do we just keep doing this?" he asked.

"There's a third option," Olivia said.

Jake looked over at her. "Poker?" he asked.

Olivia smiled. "You'd lose your shirt," she said. He held her gaze for a moment and then went back to changing channels, stopping on an old black and white detective movie. Then he used both hands to scoop popcorn out of the bowl and sat on the sofa. "I hope your hands are clean," Olivia said.

"I think you know the answer to that," Jake said.

"I think you might not want me to think about it too much," Olivia said. She went to the kitchen and got a couple small bowls and napkins. She handed Jake a bowl and napkin and used the other bowl to shovel out some popcorn. When she sat on the sofa this time, she sat closer to him. Jake looked at her, and Olivia met his gaze.

"Are you playing me?" Jake asked.

Olivia laughed and munched on some popcorn. "Does it matter?" she asked.

"Meaning, yes," Jake said.

Olivia wiped her right hand on her napkin and then brought it to his cheek. His skin was stubbly and rough, but she liked it. She slid her thumb down to his lips, which were so soft and smooth. He brought his hand to hers and moved it away. "You're with him," Jake said.

"This isn't about him," Olivia said.

"Is this about the two of you having a fight or…"

"No," Olivia said.

"Then?" Jake asked.

"I needed some air," Olivia said. "I came home, and you were here."

"And I'm still here," Jake said.

"Yes, you are," Olivia said.

"Should I be?" Jake asked. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't just walk out that door and disappear forever?"

"Yes," Olivia said. She picked up her glass and took a sip, then turned to the movie and ate some popcorn.

"I need more than that," Jake said.

Olivia set the glass down. "Because I need the sun," she said. "And there's no sun in the White House."

The look in Jake's eyes softened. "I wish we could go away again," he said.

"I wish we hadn't come back," Olivia said. When she saw the flash of surprise in his eyes, she added, "Still." She paused a moment, then said, "Does that work?"

"Yeah, that works," Jake said. He put his hands on her cheeks and brought his lips to hers softly; Olivia pressed the issue, opening and deepening the kiss. Jake drew her in to him, into his strong, steady warmth. But a moment before it escalated through to the next step, Olivia withdrew from him.

"We should finish watching this," she said, looking back at the movie.

"I'm not that interested in it," Jake said.

"We have all this wine and popcorn," Olivia said.

"That'll wait," he said.

"Presumptuous," Olivia said, refilling her popcorn bowl.

"Always," Jake said.

"We have all night," Olivia said.

"We do?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Olivia replied.

Jake reached for his glass and leaned back against the sofa. "Then let's see how this thing ends," he said.


End file.
